Step 1: Gather Equipment

The equipment you need will depend on your mission and surroundings. I created a basic list of some good spy gear:

>Camera phone, small film camera (like the one shown), or a little digital camera>Monocular or some small binoculars, the more powerful they are the more detail, but less powerful gives you a bigger field of view.>Notepad and pen- to write down addresses, license numbers, and any other observations>A small mirror- can be easily obtained from a makeup thing that girls use, just pry it off.>A watch- to log the times of events>A Swiss Army Knife- just useful to have>Spy shades- mine look goofy, but I've seen some better ones, there's also another Instructables on how to make a pair.>If you are on a dangerous mission you may want to bring along a larger knife, but one that will still fit in your pocket, if you are entering gang territory or some very dangerous place then you should bring a concealable handgun.

Step 2: Start a Tail

When following someone the main object is to not get noticed and gather information.It's best to follow someone in a slightly crowded place, that way there are people to hide you, if you try to follow someone on a deserted dirt road it would be very suspicious.Stay at least 50ft away if you are on foot, if you are following someone by car, it is best to stay 2 cars behind them and try to be in a different lane.

>Use quick disguises like a hat, shades, or a jacket.>Create a surveillance log, write the time in the left margin and write the events to the side.>Remember stay close enough to the target to make sure he doesn't give you the slip, but far enough away that he won't realize you're there, make notes whenever you have a spare moment.>After tailing for a while go over these questions: Is there anything the target did that surprised you?Could you guess what was being said when the target talked to people? Did the target realize you were tailing him? Did you learn anything new about the target?>NEVER make eye contact with your target.>Wear sunglasses only if it's sunny out!>Be prepared to change your appearance.>If the target stops suddenly, you should not stop suddenly, too! Your target may be testing to see if you're following him. If you stop suddenly, you'll confirm his suspicions! So, keep moving and resume your tail later, after some quick changes.>Take cover when necessary (but only when it looks natural)! Move into a crowd, turn away, or cover your face (without being obvious) if you think he's looking your way.

Step 3: Follow the Rabbit.

"Follow the Rabbit" is the name for a special spy tailing method involving a team of two people who work together to keep a target under watch. The directly behind the target is called the eye because he is closest to the target and keeps him in view. The person behind the eye is the tail.

>Decide who will be the eye and who will be the tail.>This works best if you and your partner learn hand signs that can be used between the two of you. For example: Touch your right ear when the target is in sight, and left if he stops. Etc....>If an enemy notices the same person over and over again, it seems unusual, and he gets suspicious. He will then become more cautious and more difficult to track, so professional spies use up to four people to tail someone and switch periodically to remain unnoticed.

Step 4: Using Your Spy Gadgets.

There are many different tools you can use to assist you in your spy missions.I have this 110mm film camera, its the smallest film camera i could find (thats affordable) i think the best thing to use is a camera phone, since most people have one and it wouldn't be suspicious at all if you pulled it out.Always make sure the camera lens is open or you'll just get a black picture.I like to hold my camera as shown, you cant see it at all from the back.Taking pictures is easiest in a car because they wont be able to see you, and you can use high quality zoom stuff in your car.Mirrors are a great tool for looking around corners, and behind you, like with the spy shades shown, you can notice the mirrored part. You can use these to detect a tail behind you.I added the fast Ferrari for people that are extremely rich and can be the fictional James Bond type spy.

I hope you'll enjoyed this instructable, *this is my first so please don't be that harsh on me lol*

if you're just doing it for fun, find an apartment complex and trail the security guard. when i was a kid, a friend and i would follow for hours trying to stay as close as possible without being noticed. the best we did was staying within 20 feet of him for a half hour. and the closest ever was 5-10 feet away... we definitely thought he'd caught us that time, but he didn't notice. (must have thought we were one of the dozens of stray cats that roamed the area.)

the only downside to this is if the guard is a slacker. we had one that spent 90% of his shift sitting in his car and 10% on patrol.

eh, yeah i have the same problem. it's useful if you want to get information about someone in order to get back at them or something, or if you think you're girlfriends is cheating on you (although in that case it would be better to have your friend do it cause she'd see you)

Update: I can't use a camera; my school doesn't allow 'em (wish they'll allow phones now). What can I use other than a camera? Hmm... I know! Mark his/her location on a map! Wait, the purpose of a camera is to record things as they happen as well as photographic proof. Hmm... This complicates things... *searches google* Dam.... This complicates things even further... Hmm, wait a minute! On the rulebook it says, "No electronic devices". If I can get my hands on an analog camera then... YAY!!! A WEAKNESS IN THE SYSTEM!!! Wait, oh man! There are no more film developing stores around here, dam! *searches google again* If I can get my hands on a VGA+ driver then I can finally use that tiny VGA+ camcorder sitting there for years! *clicks google result* HELL YEAH!!! INSTRUCTABLE GETS 5/5!!!!!!!!

note for surveillance: make sure to use the bathroom before you start, and don't consume a lot of liquids! also, bring along a snack, like a power bar.

It's best to not go alone to a dangerous area... have all proper permits for weapons so if someone, like a neighbor, sees you lurking and phones you in, you won't get in trouble for something stupid like not having a c&c permit.

to practise, go to a mall, and pick someone, and follow them around for a while. It's best to pick someone of the same gender for these exercises, so it doesn't look like you're some weird sex predator. The person may never notice but the mall's security cameras will, until you get good at being nonchalant.

For a more extreme case try tailing someone random at a casino. If you don't get noticed, kicked out, or followed by casino security, you're probably doing it right.

something's wrong about wearing shades and other stuff for disguises. just wear the casual clothing used in that area to "blend in" with the other people. that's where the sentence "act normal" comes from.

Have you not just given away your identity as a spy? :/
Nice Instructable though.
The only thing I would change, considering it is your first Instructable, is to use Capital Letters and format the text properly.
If you want a hand with this I would be more than happy to help, just drop me a private message.
Nice work.

Oh, something to add to your kit: a small audio recorder. One day at lunch, I left the recorder in my bag, as we needed it for music, after break. I didn't know at the time that it was switched on. When I listened later, I heard a girl being bullied really badly. Later I told her what had happened, and she said she had told the teacher, but she wouldn't bellieve it. We played the tape for the tacher, who then apoligized and dealt with the bulling. I know, no major terrorist attacks averted, but one kids self esteem raised.

i would recommend a change of clothing if you start like this:
long pants, shirt out, and glasses
to:
long pants, shirt in(different shirt and pants), hat.
you look taller with your shirt in. you could even put roled up socks in your shoe to be even taller.

How about a 'Turncoat' shirt? One that you can take off, turn inside out, and put back on going from red shirt to green or blue shirt. The same can be done with a coat. I once designed a double thick camoflage jacket that had FOUR shades, Snow camo, Green camo, Brown camo, and a fourth shade. I call it a Ptarmagine after the Alaskan bird that changes colors with the seasons.

and if its winter out (and you have a towel like from a gym) you can roll up the towel and put it on your shoulders then put on your jacket to raise your shoulder height appearance wearing a hat works well with this trick.

my alternative to the knife: i made some armor-y stuff out of some metal i have lying around and made it so that you can easily slot in a long sharp piece into a socket on it. just put on the guantlet, slip the blade down oyur pant leg in some kind of protective thing so you dont slice oyur leg with the end sticking out and your good to go. just jam your socket on the guantlet onto the end of the blade and voila, instant arm sword. looks cool, too.